The Daily Note with James A. Brown
The Daily Note with James A. Brown
James A. Brown
Harvard Professor Arthur Brooks Says We're Chasing the Wrong Four Things
1 minutes Posted Apr 10, 2026 at 10:00 am.
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Arthur Brooks, a Harvard professor, says we’ve spent decades chasing four things that don’t make us happy — money, power, pleasure and fame.

He’s not saying they’re evil. He’s saying they become toxic if they’re the point of your life. After a certain income, more money doesn’t move the needle for you. Power isolates you. Pleasure is temporary because your brain adapts and demands more. And fame — well, it makes you dependent on people who don’t know you.

He says the four that work are faith, family, friends and work. He says we chase the wrong four things — and so many of us wonder why we feel so empty all the time.

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